The basic direction of the implementation of national projects in health care is development of primary health care, including specialized one of patients with chronic non-epidemic diseases and increasing of efficiency of dispensary observation. Among such diseases are mental disorders requiring dispensary observation as key measure of medical care. According to clinical guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, implementation of social rehabilitation is mandatory direction of dispensary observation for these diseases. The existing approaches to organization of social rehabilitation in psychiatry require further development and improvement in conditions of introduction of new normative legal documents. The article reflects experience of organization of social care of patients with mental disorders at the regional level, considering team forms of work. The normative legal support of activities, main functional responsibilities and tasks of social worker are studied, taking into account work with such patients. The role of social worker in medical social care of patients with mental diseases is analyzed. The measures are elaborated to develop organization of social rehabilitation programs considering implementation of team forms of work. The efficiency of their implementation is evaluated. In 2019–2024, in the Irkutsk Psychoneurological Dispensary, the number of social workers increased from 8.75 to 27.5 full-time positions.

mental disorder, social rehabilitation, social worker, team work.